The Jungle Book 3
by Dequincyx
Summary: Mowgli was just about the most popular kid in the village in (1969) He had everything going for him. A home, a loving family, freedom to go and play in the Jungle with his animal friends. It seemed like every boy in the village wanted to be him. But...that year...something so awful happened. Something so horrifying, that no one would ever be jealous of Mowgli ever again.
1. JB3 1: Running With The Wolves

**The**

 **J** **ungle** **B** **ook** **3**

 **JB3 1: Running With The Wolves**

BAGHEERA: "Remember the story of Mowgli? The man cub who was raised by wolves in the Jungle and had to leave because Shere Khan the tiger was threatning his life? Fortunantly, he defeated the tiger and went to live in the man village in (1967), where he was raised by it's people. Then, in (1968), Mowgli ran away from the village and was returned to the Jungle, where he later re-encountered Shere Khan. After battling and defeating the tiger a second time, Mowgli returned to the village. But do you think that was his last encounter with the tiger? Let me tell you what happend in (1969) when Mowgli and Shere Khan crossed paths a third time."

 **The Jungle Of India.**

 **February 28, (1969)**

In the beautiful Jungle of India, (1969), 12 year old Mowgli ran through the forest as fast as his legs could carry him, leeping over rocks as he did, never slowling down. When he reached the end of a small clift, with a dry streem, and saw that the path continued on the other side, he grabbed onto a branch and swung himself over to the other side and continued running. He looked across the Jungle to his left and saw a wolf catching up with him and another to the right side of him.

A pack of wolves ran ahead of Mowgli, leaving him behind.

Then vicious growling was heard, and Mowgli looked back and saw that the growling was coming from inside the trees and glanced at the rustlling branches, making the 12 year old boy speed up his running. Something large and unseen was crashing through the trees behind him.

Mowgli rushed up a large tree with a thick trunk, reaching the top of it, and on he scampered with the agility of a squerl, jumping from tree to tree. He then jumped onto the lemb of a large tree, with countless holes in it, and ran up to one of the holes and climbed inside the tree. He exited on the other side and ran across the other branch that snapped under his feet, causing him to fall to the soft Jungle floor. Mowgli got to his feet and resumed running, but a snarling black panther pounced out of the bushes and tackled him to the ground on his back.

The black panther snarled at the boy as it beared it's sharp teeth. "You must be the very worst wolf i've ever seen."

"Yeah," Mowgli began. "But if the branch didn't break, i would've made it."

The panther then got off of Mowgli, allowing the boy to get to his feet. "Crossing upwind, breaking from your numbers. If you can't learn to run with the pack, one of these days, you'll be someone's dinner."

"How'd we do?" Asked Baloo as he, 11 year old Shanti, 5 year old Ranjan and five of the other wolves caught up with Mowgli and Bagheera.

"Not Mowgli again." Said Ranjan.

"He's never gonna make the council." Said a female wolf.

"Lala, never say never." Said Bagheera.

"Why not? It's true." Said the female wolf known as Lala.

"Let's go!" Said a brown wolf before he and Lala ran off.

"Hey, wait for me." Said a yellow wolf running after the other two. He stopped in his tracks and turned and looked back at Mowgli. "See ya around, red draws." The wolf then ran off the join Lala and the brown wolf. "Race you to the top!"

Mowgli's face developped a sad expression.

"Ah, pay no attention to them, Mowgli." Said a brown wolf.

"Akru's right, Mowgli. They're just jealous, that's all." Added a grey wolf.

(The scene freezes)

BAGHEERA: "The wolves you just saw were Lala, Patriot and Dink. She was the grandaughter of the pack's alpha wolf, Akela. While she may have been related to the wolves' leader, she was nothing like him at all, as you can see. The yellow and brown wolves were Patriot and Dink. They were members of Akela's pack as well. And they, along with Lala, loved to pick at Mowgli every chance they got. More-so Lala than any of them. Patriot and Dink just picked on Mowgli because Lala was doing it. The two wolves who are with me, Mowgli and the others are Akru and Saru. They were his brothers, as well as the sons of Rama and Raksha. Like every family, they had all lived and grown up together. That is...until it was time for Mowgli to leave the pack, as well as the Jungle, to go live with man."

(The scene un-freezes)

Mowgli and the gang walked through the Jungle.

"It was higher ground." Said Mowgli.

"Wolves don't climb in trees." Said Bagheera.

"I can't keep up with them, Bagheera. And besides, i just picked the wrong tree, that's all." Said Mowgli.

"It was a dead tree." Said Bagheera.

"How was i suppose to know it was dead?" Asked Mowgli.

"It had a fig vine. Any tree gridled by a creeper is either dead of close to it. These are things a wolf must know. Than again, you're not a wolf." Said Bagheera.

"Yeah, but if the branch didn't break, i would've made it." Said Mowgli.

"I realize you weren't born a wolf, but, could you at least act like one?" Said Bagheera.

The gang then walked passed a river that had a water fall.

BAGHEERA: "When i found him...many years ago...he was just and infant abandoned in the woods. If he was going to survive...i knew he needed a people. A people to protect him. That's why i entrusted him to the wolves."

The gang soon arrived at council rock, where all of the wolves lived.

"Look well, wolves!" Came a voice.

Mowgli and the gang looked and saw Akela, the alpha wolf, standing on top of council rock, with the other wolves standing around him. Among them were his grandaughter, Lala and Patriot and Dink, as well as Rama and Akru and Saru.

BAGHEERA: "Akela was a just and noble leader. He allowed Mowgli to dwell among them all those years."

Bagheera jumped onto the lemb of a tree and rested on it, with Baloo leaned up against the tree, while Mowgli and Shanti and Ranjan went over to a cave where a female wolf and her cubs were.

BAGHEERA: "The trouble was, wolves grew so fast...and Mowgli...well...let's just say he liked to take his time."

Mowgli sat down on a rock next to the grey wolf known as Raksha and Shanti and Ranjan sat next to him.

"Mowgli, pick me up high!" Said one of the wolf cubs.

"My turn! (Laughs)." Said another cub.

"Stop. Not now." Said Mowgli while making a long piece of grass out of something.

BAGHEERA: "It was Raksha who raised him. She was the only mother he ever knew."

"Come on, let's play!" Said a grey wolf.

"I don't feel like playing, Gray." Said Mowgli.

"Come on, you're my brother. You have to play with me. Let's go chase some mice. (Laughs)." Said the little gray wolf cub known as Gray.

"How did it go?" Raksha asked.

"He caught me again." Said Mowgli.

"If it's meant to be...it will be." Said Raksha.

"Let me hear the Law." Said Akela.

"This is the Law of the Jungle...as old and as true as the sky.."

"The Wolf that keeps it will prosper...but the wolf that breaks it will di. Like the creeper that girdles the tree trunk...the Law runneth over and back. For the strength of the pack is the wolf...and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack." Mowgli and Ranjan joined in.

All of the wolves then started howling and Mowgli and Ranjan howled with them.

Shanti then looked at the sky and noticed that the sun was starting to set. "Oh my, look at the time. It's time for us to head back to the village, you guys."

"Yeah, we gotta go back." Said Mowgli. He turned to Raksha. "Same time tomorrow?"

"I'll be here." Said Raksha.

"Okay, bye." Mowgli waved at the bear and the panther. "Goodbye, Bagheera, bye, Baloo!"" Said Mowgli before he, Shanti and Ranjan then ran off, heading back to the village.

"Goodbye!" Said Bagheera.

"Bye!" Added Baloo.

Bagheera and Baloo watched as the three children left.

BAGHEERA: "Mowgli was just about the most popular cub in the man village and the Jungle in (1969). He had everything a cub could ever want. A home, a loving family, freedom to go into the Jungle and play with his friends. I lived in the Jungle back then, and i can honostly tell you that every animal cub and man cub wanted to be him. And insecure animals were jealous of him. But that year...something awful happened. Something so horrifying that no one would ever be jealous of Mowgli ever again."

(Scene cuts to black)


	2. JB3 2: Red Fire

**JB3 2: THE RED FIRE.**

Red smoke filled the air as it's blood red fire spread throughout the Jungle, consuming everything in it's path as animals fled for their lives, trying to get to safety, with the whole jungle being blood red from the fire and the smoke. Mowgli slowly opened his brown eyes and discovered that he was traveling a whole lot faster than his body would permit him to. No living thing could run as fast as he was running. But something didn't quite add up. If he was running, then...why didn't he feel his legs moving? The little boy looked up at his legs and saw that they weren't moving. Wait a second. Up? That couldn't have been right. Last he had check, when a person looked at their legs, they usually looked down to see them. You looked up when you wanted to see the...sky. It was true. When the child had looked up, he saw, not only his legs and feet...but the sky, itself. He then looked down and saw that he was very high up from land. Then, he suddenly realized something. It hit him like a ton a bricks. He was falling out of the sky...up-side-down. The boy closed his eyes, passing out.

"I've been having these weird dreams lately. Like, is any of this for real or not?"

Mowgli continued to fall from the sky, slightly unconscious. As he fell, the scent of fire, smoke and brimstone entered his nostrils, and the sound of panicing animals and screaming people entered his eargate. The child continued plumitting until a flash of red light. The boy's brown eyes shot opened and he looked at his surroundings and saw that the whole village was red and in flames, as well as giving off red smoke, as all of it's people fled, screaming in terror.

"What in the world is going on?" Mowgli asked.

He then looked in front of him and saw the back of Shanti standing in the river outside the red, burnning village.

"Shanti!" Mowgli ran out of the village and stopped at the river. "Shanti, is that you? Are you alright?"

Shanti, then slowly turned around and faced the boy, revealing herself. "Mowgli." She extended a hand, ussering for the boy, known as Mowgli, to come out into the river with her.

"Shanti!" Said Mowgli before he rushed out into the river, making his way up to her and then embracing her with a hug. "Where did all this fire come from? What's going on?"

Rather than answer his question, Shanti pushed Mowgli off of her and tackled him down into the pond, holding the boy under water.

Under water, Mowgli held his breath as he looked at the relection of Shanti that was on the surface. As he looked at her, he realized that he was going deeper and deeper under water. The boy attempted to swim back up to the surface, but the under water curant proved to be too strong for him and carried him ferther down under the water. The area then changed and Mowgli surfaced, gasping for air. He looked around and saw that he was standing in the river between the burnning jungle and the burnning village.

"Mowgli!" Came four voices.

Mowgli looked to his right and saw Shanti, Ranjan, the village leader and his wife, Messua, standing outside the burnning village near the river. "Shanti! Ranjan! Mom, Pop!"

"Mowgli!" Came other voices.

"Huh?" Mowgli looked to his left and saw his Jungle animal friends, Baloo, the bear, and Bagheera, the black panther, standing outside the burnning jungle. "Baloo! Bagheera!"

"Mowgli, look out!" Said Messua, pointing to the sky.

Mowgli looked up into the sky and saw blood red fire balls fall down on the Jungle and the village, each of them exploding everytime they landed.

"Meteors!" Said Ranjan, pointing at the sky.

As Mowgli continued to look at the sky and see more fire balls fall, he saw something else. Something very strange. He saw...himself? Yes. As crazy as it appeared, it was true. Falling out of the sky, along with the red fire balls, was none other than Mowgli himself. The young boy watched in shock as he saw himself fall out of the sky.

The second unconscious Mowgli landed on his conscious self and they both made a splash landing in the river. Underneath the surface, Having apparently merged into one being, Mowgli could see the reflections of his human family and his two animal friends as the curant carried him ferther under water. Mowgli soon reached the bottom of the river, standing on his feet. In a bright red flash of light, the area changed scenes, and Mowgli looked around and saw that he was no longer standing at the bottom of the river, but was now standing on dry land. Dry, blood red burnning, land. Everywhere he looked, something was either on fire of red from the red fire and smoke. Mowgli turned and looked down from the clift and saw all of the red fire at the bottom, with red smoke coming from it. He then looked across the Jungle and saw that the whole forest was being consumed by the red fire. The red smoke then shapped itself into a red dragon above the jungle. the dragon shapped, red smoke creature turned it's attention to Mowgli and looked at him with it's red glowing eyes.

 **"Mowgli."** Said the dragon in a distorted voice.

Mowgli's eyes widened at the sight of this. But suddenly, he felt the land getting hot beneath his feet. The boy looked down at his feet and then looked back and saw that the red fire was consuming the land he stood upon. The edge of the clift then gave way and Mowgli fell, plummitting down to the bottom, but was able to stop himself from falling by grabbing onto the rocky land of the clift. But was barely hanging on by his fingernails as he slowly started to lose his grip, leaving scrach marks on the clift. While trying his best to hang on, Mowgli looked down at the bottom and saw the burnning red fire lifting up red smoke.

"Mowgli!" Came some voices.

Mowgli looked up and saw Shanti, Ranjan, Baloo, Bagheera, Akela, the wolves and the village leader and his wife, Messua, falling out of the red sky. "Guys!"

"Mowgli!" They all screamed as they all fell past Mowgli.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mowgli screamed as he looked down and watched as all of his dear loved ones fell to their deaths in the red sea of fire at the bottom. Mowgli tried his best to hang on, but it was no use. The soon lost his grip and continued falling until he landed into the lake of fire that was burnning just below him.


	3. JB3 3: The Suprise

**JB3 3: THE SUPRISE**

 **March 1'st, (1969)**

Mowgli's eyes shot open and he sat up, screaming and sweating. The 11 year old Indian boy breathed heavily with his brown eyes as big a saucers. He looked around and saw that he was inside his bedroom, laying inside his hamock. Mowgli got out of his hamock and walked over to the only window in his room and looked out to see the village. It was not on fire and it's people were not screaming and running, but were walking around, chatting with each other. He then gazed upon the Jungle and saw that it too was not being consumed by flames.

"(Sighs)." Mowgli sighed as he bowed his head. "It was just a dream."

Suddenly, there was a knock at Mowgli's bedroom door.

"Mowgli? Are you alright?" Came a voice on the other side of the door. "Mowgli?"

Mowgli walked up to the only door in his room and opened it, revealing Ranjan.

"Good morning, Ranjan." Said Mowgli.

"Good morning, Mowgli. Are you okay?" Asked Ranjan.

"Of course i am. Why wouldn't i be?" Asked Mowgli.

"My parents and i heard you screaming from down stairs, so they sent me up here to check on you. That, and i have a message to you from father." Said Ranjan.

"A message from Pop? What about?" Asked Mowgli.

"I didn't ask. All he said was that he wanted to see you right away. Something about a suprise." Said Ranjan.

"A suprise? I love suprises." Said Mowgli before he left out of his room with Ranjan.

Down stairs, Messua and her husband, the village leader, were sitting at the dinner table. Messua was peeling an grapefruit and the leader was eating a ham on a plate.

Mowgli and Ranjan then appeared at the cordoor.

"You, uh, you wanted to see me, sir?" Mowgli asked the leader.

The leader turned to see Mowgli and Ranjan standing at the cordoor and stood up. "Yes. Yes, i did. Come on in."

Mowgli and Ranjan entered into the room.

"What about?" Asked Mowgli.

"It's a suprise." Said the leader.

"That's what i told him earlier." Said Ranjan.

"I like suprises." Said Mowgli.

"Well, i'm glad to hear that you do, cause you're gonna love what i have to say next." Said the leader.

"Which is what, exactly?" Asked Mowgli.

"Come with me, Mowgli. Let us take a walk together and talk things out, man to man." Said the leader.

"Oh, uh...sure." Said Mowgli.

The leader led Mowgli out of the house and Messua got up from the table and she and Ranjan went to the door and they both watched as Mowgli and the leader walked through the village. Messua smiled at them as they continued onward. **##################################################################################** Mowgli and the leader now stood at the outskirts of the village, gazing upon it.

"Look, Mowgli. Every building that you see before you now is our village." Said the leader.

"Wow." Said Mowgli.

"A leader's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, Mowgli, the sun will set on my time here...and will rise with you as the new leader." Said the leader.

"This will all be mine?" Asked Mowgli.

"Everything." Said the leader.

"Every building i see before me. What about that big shadowy mountain?" Said Mowgli.

"That's the forbidden part of the Jungle. You must never go there, Mowgli." Said the leader.

"I thought a leader could do whatever he wants." Said Mowgli.

"Oh, there's more to being a leader than just getting your way all the time." Said the leader as he turned to walk off.

"There's more?" Asked Mowgli.

"Mowgli." Said the leader.

Later, Mowgli and the leader back in the village, walking through it.

"Everything you see exist together in delicate balance. As future leader, you need to understand that balance and respect all the animals of the Jungle. From the crawling ant to leeping Antilope." Said the leader.

"But don't we eat the Antilope?" Asked Mowgli.

"Yes, Mowgli, but let me explane. When we die, our bodies go into the ground. And the animals of the land walk upon the ground just as we humans do. And so...we are all connected...in the great circle of life." Said the leader. "That being said, i have one last thing i wish to share with you."

"You do? What?" Asked Mowgli.

"For the past 300 years...our village has lived by a certain ritual, that when a boy reaches the age of 12, he is no longer a boy...he is a man. And so when you, Mowgli, turn 12, you will step out of boyhood and transition over into manhood." The leader explained.

"You mean i'll be a man this year?" Asked Mowgli.

"Absolutely. And to congratulate you on your up-coming manhood, I thought i'd give you this." The village leader removed a necklace, with a long, sharp tooth, from around his neck and placed it around Mowgli's neck.

"Whoa. What is it?" Asked Mowgli, looking at the tooth necklace.

"It's a tooth necklace. It's been in my family for centuries. My father gave it to me as a gift when i was just about your age. He gave it to me to congratulate me on becoming a man and the village's new leader. He said that whenever i got married and had children, i should pass it down to my son when he reaches the age of 12. And even though we adopted you, and you've only been here with us for a year, and you're not 12 years old yet, i still consider you as a son." Said the leader.

"Wow." Mowgli then hugged his adoptive father. "Thanks, Pop."

"No need to thank me. It's a gift to congratulate you on a job well done." Said the leader.

"A job well done?" Mowgli asked.

"On becoming the village's new ruler." Said Mowgli.

"New ruler? But you said that i wouldn't lead the village until after the sun had set on your time here." Said Mowgli.

"I know, Mowgli, but when i reached the age of 12, my father made me the ruler of the land. To be honost with you, i was scared...afraid i would mess up. And i really didn't want to be a leader at such a young age. It meant that i wouldn't be able to do some of the things i use to as a boy and that i would have to grow up too fast. But not wanting to disappoint my father, i did what he wanted and asumed the role as leader of the village..even though, secretly, i really didn't want to." Said the leader.

"You mean you never told your father that you didn't want his job? Why?" Asked Mowgli.

"Because i didn't want to let him down and make him ashamed of me. I hated myself for lying to him, and i still do to this day, but i feared that if i didn't go through with the ritual, he would be disappointed in me...and that i would lose his love and respect forever." Said the leader. "But thank goodness you're not me and you don't feel that way, right?"

"Uh...right." Said Mowgli.

"Good. Now then," Began the leader. "you run along now and have fun."

"Thanks, Pop." Said Mowgli before running off.

"And be sure to be ready for tonight's cellebration!" Said the leader.

"Cellebration?" Mowgli stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"Yes! Tonight we are having a cellebration in honor of you becoming our new ruler! Be sure to be on time!" Said the leader.

"I'll be there!" Said Mowgli before resuming his run.

The leader just looked at Mowgli as the 11 year old ran off.

Meanwhile, outside the village, Ranjan was in the river, catching fish. He had a lot of trainning as the rest of last year went by when his father was teaching him how to hunt for food. Now that he was 5, he was now able to do some things on his own. The little indian boy then noticed Mowgli by the river.

"Hey, Mowgli!" Ranjan shouted, startling Mowgli, causing him to fall into the river.

"Ranjan, you made me jump a little." Said Mowgli.

"Sorry, Mowgli. Look, i caught a lot of fish." Said Ranjan, showing his friend the basket full of fish.

"That's great, Ranjan, you're getting better at hunting everyday." Said Mowgli. The 11 year old stood up, walked out of the river and walked up to the gates of the man village where Shanti was walking to see if he was back...and he was.

"Mowgli, i'm so glad you're back." Said Shanti.

"I'm glad to be home, Shanti." Said Mowgli.

But Shanti could tell just by looking at Mowgli's face that he wasn't so glad like he was saying. "What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Nothing's wrong. Ranjan's father had news for me today. He want's me to be the village's next leader when i turn 12." Said Mowgli.

"Really?! Oh, Mowgli, that's great! But, uh...why do you look so glum about it? Why aren't you exited, this is good news." Said Shanti.

"Yeah for him, maybe, but not for me. I mean what if i get the job and i mess it up? What if i stink at the job? What if i end get the job and i end up disappointing, everybody? What if..."

"Mowgli. That's enough with the what-if's." Said Shanti.

"Sorry, i'm just so nervous. I'm really afraid of being a leader. Being a good leader." Said Mowgli.

"Mowgli, you will be a good leader." Said Shanti.

"Yeah, but we don't know that. I mean i might mess up worse than i think i will. I only said yes to the job to spare the leader's feelings because i didn't wanna disappoint him. But what happens when i do get the job and stink at it? I'll just wind up letting him down more than i would've if i had turnned down the job. Forget that. I'm not gonna be the next leader." Said Mowgli.

"Mowgli, this is your big chance. If you don't become the next leader after Ranjan's father, then everyone will just do whatever they want." Said Shanti.

"Yeah, i know, but i'm nervous and i don't think i can do this. I need time to think this through. I'll see you later." Said Mowgli before walking off.

Shanti watched Mowgli cross the river, by jumping on the rocks, and head off into the jungle.  
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